Paper companies probably did have a lot of power during that period . Back east , the forest lands are all owned but out west much of the forest land is actually Public Land isnt it ?? I am not completely clear about this fact but I am pretty certain that many paper mills are located on public land


During WW2 , the government encouraged the growth of Hemp but there were constant shortages and it gave money to Dow in order to create synthetic alternatives . Dow succeeded in creating nylon and they soon discovered that they could make Enormous profits from the Monopoly sales of its new synthetic fibers . Shortly after the war the propaganda battle against hemp started and Dow lobbied for criminalisation of the plant . They demonized hemp and made it look like people became silly after using it . They also used racism to fuel there madness and eventually the succeeded in illegalising the most beneficial plant ( to humanity ) on planet earth .

Another historical note---
Cannabis was grown during the colonial period of the United States . Hemp was a key product that made the united states a very rich country during that period . Clothing manufacturers used Hemp extensively in the creation of clothing .. Hemp is much stronger and durable than cotton . The first war against hemp came when clothing manufacturers found out that they could make more money by selling us clothing that is made from cotton since cotton is not nearly as durable as hemp and people would be forced to purchase clothing much more frequently if it was made out of cotton . Greed is the overriding factor when looking into this issue . Hemp is soo durable and cheap to produce that it is capable of eliminating other lesser fibers . This fact has led to the various crusades against hemp .... Its all about concentration of power and wealth . Since hemp is usable for paper , the paper companies probably had a strong stake in the war against hemp . IF they own there own forest lands then why not just grow hemp instead of trees ? On the other hand if they are getting there wood freely from public land they would want to keep that cash cow alive ... I would think that public woodlands rather than private would be the reason for the greed mongers to lobby the government . I could be mistaken on this idea but I could see a greedy individual thinking like this


As for DOW chemical ... They are ultra powerful today . They are part of the petrochemical lobby . Those people are the most harmful individuals in the entire world . We do have a ray of hope and it comes from the pharmaceutical industry . This industry we would normally think of as being an enemy to our cause and humanity in general . They are finding new uses for cannabis and could potentially lobby the government to allow there specific cannabis drugs to be allowed in the USA . I am not saying this is likely or probable . I am simply saying it is a potential ally for us .